Monday, January 9, 2012

Book Review: Fiction Ruined My Family

I read this book over the New Years Eve weekend, while relaxing, and it was really amusing to read of such dysfunction.
That might sound odd. This woman's childhood is so messed up you should feel bad, but she tells it so lovingly and with such a good sense of humor you find yourself laughing with her.

The way fiction ruined her family is that her father never had a job because he was too focused on his goal of being a writer but never really focusing enough on it to accomplish it.

To top off a bad childhood the author is an alcoholic who reaches rock bottom AFTER pooping in a paper bag in her apartment... apparently there is further to go after that!

Despite the terrible life circumstances you can tell the author loves her parents (when she can stand them) and has gotten her life together after quitting the booze. The sentences sometimes don't make sense, but the laughs are plentiful despite the somewhat sad stories. (Her parents divorce doesn't stick because they end up living together and dating on and off, she is mad at her mother for being more of a mess than she is because its really taking the attention off her own self destruction, she gives her sister crabs for Christmas... etc).
I'd recommend this book if you want to feel better about your own terrible upbringing, your drinking problem, or you have a lazy weekend where you can focus on someone else's traumatic childhood and eventual redemption. But because the writing isn't that spectacular and the theme of "my life is terrible because no one has their shit together since they're so focused on ideals rather than reality" this wouldn't be the first book I'd recommend.